Travelling, for me, can do wonders for my well-being. Exploring new places, cultures and specialties is one of life's simple pleasures that I truly enjoy doing. Although travel trips like these resulted in burning holes in my pockets, they sure taught me more about myself. Often times, it almost felt like I needed these travel trips for self-empowerment through the loud, fun times with family and friends as well as those quiet, unwinding moments and walks by the beach.

I spent my early college years travelling to local attractions within my home country, Malaysia such as Malacca, Ipoh, Seremban and Penang. Then, I started working as a teacher and it was definitely a big change in my schedule. If you have read my previous post about it, you would know that it was not easy for me. In December 2014, I was admitted to the hospital for my first surgery. With different kinds of alerting symptoms, I was diagnosed with a severe sinusitis.

My travelling came to a temporary pause for about six months due to the strict medication and dos & don'ts from the doctor. ((clears throat)) THEN, I came back stronger! These are the highlights of my travel trips since then, in chronological order, well just because. :D All images here are taken from my Instagram account (fullofheartscally), Facebook account and my personal collection of pictures.

Redang Island, Terengganu, Malaysia (July 2015)

Accommodation: Redang Berjaya Hotel & Resorts
Length of Stay: 3 days 2 nights
Estimated Budget: MYR 650 to MYR 800 per pax (free accommodation due to Berjaya membership privileges!)
Travel Activities: Snorkelling, watch sunset and sunrise, short-distance trekking, and dining by the beach.

Personal Recommendations:

• Check the weather forecast beforehand, and get first-hand observations from the hotel staff. My friends and I were hit by an unexpected storm in the second night after our snorkelling trip. We wanted to head over to Pasir Panjang Beach for some nightlife, but sadly, we could not.
• Go for scuba-diving, baby-sharks-snorkelling and turtle-watching activities! Again, due to the unexpected stormy weather that week, the local guide advised us not to go deep into the waters.
• Do not do your trekking alone! Just be a little generous and hire a local guide to go with you. We went for a short-distance trekking for about 35 minutes. The locals have shared different eery stories about lone trekkers. We were told that the locals were still trying to locate one missing male Canadian trekker for three days after he failed to check in to his hotel for dinner buffet, as promised.
• You must, must, must try their seafood selection! Most of the shops there served really good seafood dishes, but at a varying pricing. We dined in at a local shop that was half-occupied, by the Pasir Panjang beach, and it was superb!
• Mosquitoes alert! Get all kinds of mosquito repellents that you can find in the pharmacy. To this day, I am still very convinced that Redang Island is a land of warrior mosquitoes. Huge and very persistent! PFFFTT.

Jakarta & Bandung, Indonesia (October 2015)

Accommodation: H Clarity Cihampelas Bandung & Free Accommodation in Jakarta
Length of Stay: 4 days 3 nights
Estimated Budget: MYR 1200 to MYR 1500 per pax (free accommodation at my friend's place)
Travel Activities: Eating, shopping, visiting local attractions, massage, hair spa, and repeat. :D

Personal Recommendations:

• Must visit these places in Bandung: Kampung Daun, Dusun Bambu, The Valley Rooftop, and Rumah Mode Factory Outlet.
• Do check on the traffic congestion from time to time, and if possible, seek advice from a local friend. I was truly blessed to have done this trip with my friend. She knows all the alternative routes and peak timings of the roads, especially in Jakarta.
• Safety, safety, safety! Super important for lone travellers or female travellers. Be sure to get the address and contact number of your hotel, and other emergency numbers for tourists.
• Remember to get a big dose of relaxing time at their local spa centers. My friend took me to one that was the closest to her house, and I had fruity hair treatment on top of the massage that I opted for. Altogether, for the price of MYR 65. Good deal hey!

Lombok, Indonesia (April 2016)

Accommodation: Kebun Villas & Resort
Length of Stay: 4 days 3 nights
Estimated Budget: MYR 1500 to MYR 1800 per pax
Travel Activities: Trekking, snorkelling, eating, shopping, visiting local attractions, and repeat. :D

Personal Recommendations:

• Hire a local Indonesian tour guide before your trip. Do a quick research on the places of interest that you would like to go. For this trip of mine, all of us love doing outdoors. Thanks to my bestie (she works as a tour guide) - she compiled these places for us at a super reasonable price. It was all-inclusive - lunch and dinner meals, transportation, and guide for trekking and snorkelling!
• Must visit these places: Dusun Sasak SADE Village, Tiu Kelep Waterfall, Sendang Gile Waterfall, Monkey Forest, Senggigi, Gili Terawangan, Mount Rinjani and Pink Beach. We missed out two places in this list (Mount Rinjani and Pink Beach) due to time constraints (and also, one of us suffered food poisoning!)
• If you have a sensitive tummy, stay away from their local condiments and spices. Four of us suffered minor diarrhea after eating a grilled corn with their local spices (street food) on the last day of the trip. The fifth girl was taken to a nearby clinic after eating our first meal right after we landed here in Lombok. Sadly for her, she was not able to fully enjoy most of the activities.
• Be a little generous with tipping. Truthfully, it was absolutely a game changer. Period.

Perth, Australia (September 2016)

Accommodation: Comfort Hotel Perth City
Length of Stay: 5 days 4 nights
Estimated Budget: MYR 2800 to MYR 3300 per pax
Travel Activities: Eating, shopping, wine tasting, 'vineyard hopping', visiting local attractions and river cruising.

Personal Recommendations:

• Spend a longer time in your trip here at Perth, at least 7 days. I was not satisfied with the number of days I've spent here, and I am very confident that I will be travelling to Perth again with a group of friends so that I get to explore more places without having to worry about my parents. I love them but you know, them feeling exhausted and needing to take things a little slower... versus me wanting to explore, explore, and explore.
• Totally loved the slow and easy river cruise by Captain Cook Cruises. If it is going to be your first time here, it will be nice to at least experience this river cruise, at least once in a lifetime. LOL!
• You can definitely rely on their buses and trains here for travelling. For longer distance, use Uber or have your hotel call a taxi for you. We did few Uber rides when we went to the Caversham Wildlife Park, Kings Park and Swan Valley. We also took a train to Fremantle Market over the weekend.
• Refer to the first point. :) LONGER LENGTH OF STAY.

Chengdu, China (April 2017)

Accommodation: ((This was a mission trip that I partnered with my bestie and a group of missionaries in China))
Length of Stay: 8 days 7 nights
Estimated Budget: MYR 5000 to MYR 5500 per pax
Travel Activities: Evangelising, praying, singing/worshipping, eating, and repeat.

Personal Recommendations:

• Be very open-minded when you need to take a leak. They have a very 'unique' toilet system here - it was a very painful yet liberating experience for me. I cannot imagine myself going back to China ever again just because of their toilets.
• Again, be very open-minded and accommodating when dealing with different personalities of the locals here. If you are not able to converse in Mandarin, it is going to be difficult for you.
• They serve almost everything with a Sichuanese Mala sauce that numbs your tongue and might just take away your taste palette. I cannot survive eating these type of food after Day 3, to be honest. The strong combination of peppercorns, chilli peppers and other traditional spices was just too much for me. Day 4 onwards, I settled for plain steamed baozi and home-made soup.
• Refer to all three points above. :D

Seoul & Busan, South Korea (July 2017)

Accommodation: Alice Residence & The Indy House, Busan
Length of Stay: 6 days 5 nights
Estimated Budget: MYR 4000 to MYR 4500 per pax
Travel Activities: Shopping, visiting local attractions, eating, eating, and eating.

Personal Recommendations:

• Eat all the kimchis here! So authentic and matchless. All my life, I have tried so many kimchis in different restaurants but these kimchis here are homemade and it is absolutely smashing good!
• Highly recommend our accommodation in Busan, because of its strategic location. The Indy House is close to the famous Haeundae Beach and Haeundae Train Station, about 5 minutes walking distance. Within the radius of 5 km, you can also find a wide selection of Korean restaurants, cafes, pubs and their local market.
• Must visit these places: Changdeokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Insadong, Gwangjang Market and Gamcheon Culture Village.We also visited other places like Jagalchi Fish Market, Gwangalli Beach, Gukje Market and Nurimaru APEC House. Bitterly, we missed out on Gyeongbokgung and Lotte World due to time constraints.
• Wear super comfortable shoes because you will be doing a lot of walking. You can basically travel from one place to another place via the trains and some walking. Okay, maybe not some, but a lot of walking. Massive walking.

So, where next?

• Taiwan.
• West Malaysia.
• Chiang Mai.
• Philippines.
• Perth again.

Thank you for reading my super duper long travel diary! :)